saw service

[phil harold]

I found these old saws and both need sharpening and and the wood handle one needs straightening

where should I send it?

what would it cost?

are they worth the expense?


thanks phil

[Pedder Petersen]

Hi Phil,

Where should you send them?

In my books there are four active saw doctors on your side of the pond.

Ed Paik:
http://www.medalliontools.com/HandsawSharpeningService.html

Daryl Weir:
http://home.grics.net/~weir/Old_SAWS_Restored.html (http://home.grics.net/%7Eweir/Old_SAWS_Restored.html)

Mark Grable:
http://daikudojo.org/Link /mark_grable_saw_sharpening_service.html

Mark Harrell:
http://www.technoprimitives.com/

(At least three of them are members at smc)


What would it cost?

Ed Paik would take 30$ for sharpening only. The others don't have fixed prices, AFAIK.


Are they worth the expense?

There is not much use in the sandvik. The W. Tyzack, Sons & Turner is a little more worth. I would buy a 4" double extra slim saw file and give one stroke per tooth. In most cases that is enough. Costs less than 10$.

Cheers Pedder

[phil harold]

Hi Phil,



Are they worth the expense?

There is not much use in the sandvik. The W. Tyzack, Sons & Turner is a little more worth. I would buy a 4" double extra slim saw file and give one stroke per tooth. In most cases that is enough. Costs less than 10$.

Cheers Pedder

I have a file but when I looked at The W. Tyzack, Sons & Turner it is not straight and seems to bind when i try to use it
is there a way to straighten this one

the sandvik is straight I will try my hand at sharpening that one first

[Paul Davis]

I am quite happy with what Mark Harrell at technoprimitives.com did with my saws. His rehab prices are posted on his site here: http://www.technoprimitives.com/saw_sharpening__restoration_services

I don't think I'd send him the particular saws you posted pictures of, however, unless they had sentimental value. I could have gotten a good new saw for only a little more than fixing my great-great-grandfather's saw. No complaints, though. Mark posts his prices clearly and did exactly what he said he would, very quickly and very well. The saw I got back is now in regular use, where before it was useless. I couldn't throw it away, though, so turning it into a good user was a great deal for me. I'd do it again.

I can't compare his service to the others posted by Pedder. I have only one saw guy at the moment. :)
Paul

[Joe McMahon]

I've dealt with Daryl Weir and have been very happy with his work.

As far as the saws that you have, (provided there is no sentimental value) as mentioned the Sandvick isn't worth the cost. The Tyzack may be worth it, depending on the cause of the wrinkle. If you can, try removing the spine from the top of the saw. Sometimes the saw plate is bound up in the spine and by removing the plate you relieve the strain and the plate goes back flat. If that doesn't work, use it to practice sharpening and get another saw. There are a lot of decent used saws around for little money.

Joe

[phil harold]

I found backsaw in my fathers things
he passed away 13 years ago
he was born in england
I remember this backsaw hanging up in the shop after my grandfather died, so it could be his

How old would the W. Tyzack, Sons & Turner saw be?

might not be able to afford those restoration prices at the moment
30-40 to sharpen plus 35-45 to straighten...
might be just become a memento

[Bob Easton]

I can't speculate on whether it is "worth it" to spend much for sharpening your saws. You asked about straightening. Bob Smalser has a good tutorial about straightening saws at: http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/bSmalser/z_art/strSawBlade/strSawBlade1.asp

If that appeals to you, maybe you would also learn to do your own sharpening. It's not difficult. The tools you need can be acquired for about the price of getting one saw sharpened by someone else. The saws you have might be very good practice subjects and will leave you with something useful.

If interested, the following sites helped me learn:
Peter Taran’s saw sharpening primer on the Vintage Saws site.
- http://www.vintagesaws.com/library/primer/sharp.html
- http://www.vintagesaws.com/

Bob Rozaieski, of Logan Cabinet Shoppe and often participating here, has a very good saw sharpening video.
- http://blip.tv/file/2588258

[Pedder Petersen]

I have a file but when I looked at The W. Tyzack, Sons & Turner it is not straight and seems to bind when i try to use it
is there a way to straighten this one

the sandvik is straight I will try my hand at sharpening that one first

Hi Phil,

ry some litght taps on the back of the Tyzack. That usually straightens the saw.

Cheers
Pedder

[phil harold]

I was snowed in today so I tackled sharpening the sandvik and straightened the the other one

I know
I am old and slow...

thanks guys!

[David Gendron]

Keep us updated on your progress!!

[Jonathan McCullough]

Those are good and interesting links. Here's one I found about the care of backsaws specifically:

http://www.getwoodworking.com/news/article.asp?a=783

In it, the fellow gets a kink out by planishing and adjusts the blade in the back with light hammer taps.

[Martin Peek]

Phil,

Good to hear you're taking care of family saws.

I've also been working on straightening a backsaw. I wasn't able to make any progress with hammer blows last weekend (for lots of details, see the Grimshaw http://www.wkfinetools.com/hUS/z-USRead/onTools/1882-gOnSaws-grimshaw/1882-grimshaw.asp) - I'm going to take the back off and see if there is any pressure relief.

Although you seem on track already, I'd add Michael Merlo (azmica90405 on ebay) to Pedder's list. He is local to me in LA and has done exquisite work on my saws - his handle repairs are top notch. He uses special techniques for filing saws that make them cut exceptionally well.

I'd love to see how your saws turn out!

[george wilson]

HERE IS HOW TO straighten the brass backed saw. I've made many a saw for Williamsburg: Clamp the saw in a SMOOTH JAWED vise by the front end of the blade. With a wooden or plastic hammer,strike the front end of the brass back while holding the saw's handle up to support the saw. That will jerk the curves out of the saw. If the saw has a curve to its edge, I made a wrench out of hardwood,to not mar the backs. Clamp the saw by its brass back upside down close to its front end,supporting the weight of the handle end. Put the wrench on the back where the blade is curved,and torque the back by moving the handle of your wrench sideways(at 90 degrees to the back). Sight down the blade,and torque the back where necessary till the cutting edge is straight.

Most folks would probably just try to bend the back till the cutting edge looks straight,but then they end up with a saw that has an unsightly curved back. Doing it the way I have done it doesn't make the back look screwed up!!

[Dan Andrews]

I would encourage anyone who is handy enough to be doing woodworking to try sharpening their own saws. Start with a cheap rummage sale purchase that has evenly spaced teeth and isn't more than a half tooth depth out of joint.
Buy the good LN saw files and handles, and a used saw vise that is as long and ridged as you can find.

Print out the instructions from: www.vintagesaws.com/primer/sharp.html (http://www.vintagesaws.com/primer/sharp.html)
People in the know recommend the Stanley 42X as the saw set of choice. They are expensive, so I use a Morril's 1B without any problem.

I am sure my sharpening results are not the equal of the experts, but I have saved and use many saws that are not worth the cost of having professionally done.

I have had mixed results with saw straightening. All are improved with my efforts, but only about 50% are perfect or close to it.

My initial investment in tools of the trade has been under $100. including used vise and saw set and 7 or 8 new files with handles.

Saw sharpening takes patients, but is very satisfying and economical once equipped to do so.

When ordering from LN, be sure to get yourself one of their excellent auger bit files if you use auger bits.